Originally Posted by Linda_Dean:
“I like Adele. I cannot relate to all her music, though she has some great stuff. She was a breath of fresh air in an industry that has become mechanised, so OTT, so hype laden and plastic. She wrote songs that came from an authentic place – even though I cannot relate to all of them. Her voice is big and genuinely soulful, but without overwrought vocal gymnastics. She knows how to phrase and use her voice to express without the OTT. She wasn't selling sex or a brand, she sold music. It was something not seen for a long time.
I'm not sure how some can say she has been over hyped. This album, maybe, but that is due to previous success. In the past you couldn't accuse her of being hyped. She's not traditionally marketable. She was very much ignored by the mainstream because she wasn't traditionally marketable. She's not selling her body or celebrity.
The odds of her having a hugely successful career were low in the mainstream industry. But lots of people related to just her music and rawness.”
That is a really great summary of Adele. All these people that moan about her seem to totally ignore the fact that when she first came through she was a breath of fresh air from her peers. 19 was a far more (in commercial terms) modestly successful album than 21, even though the songs were excellent. At the time the industry seemed more intent on bigging up Duffy as the star. Adele was just supposed to be the quirky chubby girl who was doomed to fail.
Yet despite that she won over people in her millions. People responded to both the quality of her voice and music. It seems bizarre now that haters talk like her success was inevitable because she makes "bland" music cause that's total horse sh*t, what she did totally went against the grain of the time.
I think the only problem she has that because of that success lots of sound alike acts are doing the rounds: Emeli Sande, Sam Smith, Ella Henderson and Jess Glynne.
Adele has been cloned, however its good to see the original still seems to generate more interest, be it positive or negative.
As regards Summershudder's increasingly broken rants; If virtuoso musicians are the only people who should be regarded as great, how do you explain the likes of Lennon and McCartney being the most successful writing partnership ever? Neither of them were technically outstanding players. Great songwriters but not the greatest musical technicians. Its creativity that's the difference.
Also worth pointing out that studio trickery is not a modern invention; on the later Beatles work and his solo output Lennon used to sing with a delay effect (set very quickly so it doubled everything he sang) on his voice so it sounded thicker and bigger. Was Lennon a total vocal fraud like todays autotune users?
By that logic were Lennon and McCartney crap?
Worth mentioning that a lot of great 60's acts (everybody from the Beach Boys to the Kinks) who we think of today wrote and played everything actually weren't allowed to even record their music in the studio by the record labels. They weren't considered technically good enough players. The labels wanted it all doing in as few takes as possible to save money. Some of the guitar parts you hear on famous 60's albums are actually played by uncredited likes of Glen Campbell, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton (how all of them made names for themselves before getting solo careers of their own).
By that logic does that mean the likes of the Beach Boys and Kinks were crap?
David Bowie recently admitted that he enjoyed a successful career because he always found cool musicians and producers that made him and his ideas for songs sound great.
Does that mean David Bowie is crap too?
If virtuosity is everything why aren't you raving about the likes of former Frank Zappa and Whitesnake guitarist Steve Vai instead of "real musicians" like (snigger) Fall Out Boy? Skip to 2:20 onwards for him "shredding," often one handed whilst stroking his other hand through his hair(!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw74sDWPH7U
Now that guys a f**king virtuoso player, but most people have never heard of him. Or for that matter probably wouldn't even favour his style of music.
Personally I can respect all forms of music, there is no right or wrong way as long as the end result if excellent.